This 'Gurrelieder is grand opera. It might even be thought of as "modern Wagner" and, in fact, sounds more Wagnerian in terms of sound, styling, and phrasing than any reading I've heard. It is a performance of passion, intensity, and seething drama, with electricity surging through every fiber... Much of the success of this recording comes from the spectacular sound, whose presence, clarity and power, especially in the lower reaches of the orchestra, are exactly what this complex work needs

Gielen's conducting never sits back...he has real choral weight and a closely observed Fool (Gerhard Siegel, a true Mime) to lend distinction